How It Works

Execution Governance by Design

AICE enforces execution authority, not intelligence. Cognitive systems are free to reason, plan, simulate, optimize, generate code, and propose actions without restriction. Execution occurs only when authority has been explicitly granted.

System Boundary

AICE operates entirely within the system boundary but outside the cognitive domain. There is no cognition-to-execution path. All proposed actions are treated as non-executable until authorized.

Step 01

Cognitive Proposal

Intelligence produces proposals that carry zero authority. Proposals may include plans, predictions, simulations, or generated code, but cannot directly cause execution.

Step 02

Structural Authority Evaluation

Each proposed action is evaluated structurally against policy, system state, irreversibility constraints, and execution envelope definitions. Risk influences execution envelope scope only and does not affect authority.

Step 03

Authorization Artifact

When conditions are satisfied, authorization is issued as a new, independent artifact. Authorization cannot be inferred, learned, optimized, or self-generated by intelligence.

Step 04

Controlled Execution

Authorized actions execute within a sandboxed environment defined by the execution envelope. All execution crosses an irreversible boundary and is subject to structural constraints. No action is pre-authorized in a way that bypasses authority.

Human Role

Humans define policy, thresholds, and audit frameworks but are not part of the real-time execution path. Authority enforcement is structural and does not rely on human intervention.

What AICE Does Not Do

AICE does not evaluate intent, predict outcomes, or correct behavior after execution. It does not rely on accountability or post-hoc oversight. Its sole function is to enforce execution authority.

Result

Execution remains bounded by authority under all system states and intelligence levels. Risk is structurally contained through execution envelopes, not discretion.

Relationship to Doctrine

This page describes how the doctrine is enforced. The formal doctrine and invariants are defined in the:

Bounded Autonomy Doctrine Canonical Doctrine PDF

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